The present invention relates in general to tool protection apparatuses and, in particular, to a protective deployment apparatus which slidably secures a rotary cutting tool's gripping collar, to guard the cutting portion of a rotary cutting tool, thereby avoiding excessive abuse and damage thereto. The invention is further used as an alignment aid when transferring a conventional rotary cutting tool into a conventional tool gripping element, among other things.
For many years, industry has utilized tool gripping elements for manually receiving and centering a gripping collar, which is affixed around a rotary cutting tool. While several of such tool gripping elements have typically provided for acceptance of such a gripping collar by having an operator physically manipulate the rotary cutting tool into position, few, if any, have been used in association with a protective reciprocating jacket. In spite of the existence and use of conventional tool gripping elements in the trade, few if any, prior art devices utilize a protective deployment apparatus in cooperation with such gripping elements, let alone one that permits reciprocating insertion and withdrawal of the gripping collar, and in turn, a rotary cutting tool into and from such gripping elements.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a protective deployment apparatus which can be used in reciprocating cooperation with conventional gripping elements to effectively align, while isolating and protecting, the cutting portion of a rotary cutting tool, during manual insertion into a tool gripping element.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a protective deployment apparatus which can reciprocably cooperate with gripping elements in machine tool processing equipment, such as an ultrasonic tool cleaner, for effective and safe insertion and removal of a rotary cutting tool.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such damage free retraction of a rotary cutting tool into such tool gripping elements, for use in machine tools and tool processing equipment, while permitting realignment and secure repositioning of the tool back into the protective deployment apparatus, for further protective storage and handling when such a tool is not in use.
It is additionally an object of the present invention to provide a protective deployment apparatus which is ergonomically designed so as to facilitate ease during manual manipulation of the apparatus in association with its deployment of such cutting tools.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in light of the present specification and drawings.